Monday, August 20, 2012

In 2011 we were excited to have underwater photographer James Dylan aboard the good ship Horizon for a week of shark adventures at Isla Guadalupe. Famed for white shark encounters that have been thrilling divers for the past decade.

James and his sharks did not disappoint and he cranked our some amazing shark images. Here's his report and his website for a closer look at his white sharks:

"I
climbed slowly down the ladder trying to adjust to the extra weight
strapped to my waist. I looked around for my designated regulator and
drop into the royal blue Pacific. The water was cold as ice, but I
didn’t care. The metal enclosure that I stood in rocked back and forth
with the waves and I had to grab onto the bars to keep my balance. I
scanned the endless ocean for some sign of life besides the school of
fish surrounding me. A dark shadow moves in the distance. A massive
great white shark materializes out of the depths. My heart stops and I
have to remind myself to breathe out of the regulator. This was the one
moment I had been waiting for for 17 years and that one moment will
forever be seared into my mind.

Over the next two days I came in contact with between 10 and 15
different white sharks, all with different personalities. On day two,
perhaps the most famous shark at Guadalupe showed up. They call him
shredder. He is 16 feet long and always loves to show off to the divers
watching him. He circled the cage for three hours giving everyone a good
look. As he swims past you, he looks at you dead in the eye and you can
see his eye snap from diver to diver. Let me tell you, there is
absolutely nothing more amazing, thrilling, and terrifying than having a
16 foot great white, swimming mere inches away from you, stare at you;
studying you. Another smaller, unidentified shark, paid us a visit
later that day. This one was showing more… aggressive tendencies. He
would dive deep and torpedo up from the bottom right at our cage and
veer off at the last second.

The whole reason I got into photography was for this very reason. Shark
Diver was able to provide me with the opportunity to capture stunning
images which I was able to display at an exhibition last spring.
Several examples from this exhibition are posted above. For more of my
work, please visit my website at www.james-dylan.com.

I had an incredible experience with Shark Diver. I hope to see you all again very soon."

About Shark Diver.
As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.